Conference for Empowering Local Veterans Coming to SUNY Polytechnic Institute

If you have a military veteran in your family, you are a vet, a care provider, or you're an employer, a conference is being held on engaging, employing, and empowering the veterans in our community.

The conference will be held at SUNY Polytechnic Institute (formerly known at SUNYIT) on Seymour Road in Utica on Wednesday August 3rd from 8:15am to 2:30pm.

This is how the conference will be broken down:

8:15a - Registration and a continental breakfast in the Kunsela Lobby

9a - Welcome to the conference with a special guest speaker

10a - AM SESSIONS:

There are three AM Sessions - You get to pick which one interests you. They include:

- "Veterans Hiring Initiative - One Company is Way Ahead" which is designed for employers and features Brendan Kearns and Brian Ray from Walmart.
- "Overview of Veterans Benefits" this is designed for veterans and will be with Joe Perrone from Oneida County.
- "Driving Community Impact" which is designed for providers and medical professionals and it features Colonel James McDonough from the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

11:30a - Lunch with a panel Discussion

1p - PM SESSIONS

Again, there are three sessions to pick from. They include:

- "Hire Our Vets. What Employers Need to Know" which is for employers and features Patti Williams from ACCES-VR, and Betsy Webb-Bronzetti from the VA.
- "Find a Job or Create a Job - Employment and Business Start-Up Services Available for Veterans" this one is for veteran families and is with John Calabrese from Express Employment, and Sam Russo from SCORE and MV SBDC.
- "Cultural Competency for Providers and Medical Professionals" which is for providers and medical professionals and it features Steve Darman and Scott McCumber from Social Science Associates.

The event costs $25 per person. If you're a veteran the event is free and you can bring a family member with you (for free as well).